Wealden named as one of the most expensive places for first-time buyers

Housing estates NNL-140509-094506001

Published:14:17Friday 05 June 2015

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Wealden has been named in the list of top 20 most expensive places to become a first-time buyer in the South East.

The district was named 15th in a table documenting the most difficult areas to get a first step on the property ladder.

The research, from the National Housing Federation, takes into account average wages, house prices and limited ability to save for a deposit.

It was also revealed all local authorities in the South East except for three (Swale, Medway and Dover) have house prices more than ten times the average wages for first-time buyers.

The National Housing Federation highlights that decades of successive governments failing to build enough homes has led demand for homes to far exceed supply, driving up house prices and causing home ownership to fall to a 29 year low.

In Wealden, research found the lowest quartile average house price to be £179,725, with the lowest quartile average income standing at £11,198. It states 565 new homes are needed each year, with 550 being built in 2014 - a shortfall of just 15.

In a YouGov poll, the National Housing Federation found that an overwhelming 87 per cent (almost nine in 10) 18-34 year olds say it is difficult for their generation to get on the housing ladder in Britain.

It was discovered the current generation of aspiring first-time buyers are considerably worse off than their parents were when it comes to their chances of being able to buy a home, with average first-time buyers today needing a £30,000 deposit - almost ten times the deposit required in the early 1980s in real terms.

Alistair Smythe, external affairs manager for the South East at the National Housing Federation, said, “If the new Government doesn’t urgently address the chronic shortage of housing, young people and families will continue to be locked out of ever owning a home in future.

“Younger people in the South East, especially those whose parents can’t help financially, can find themselves stuck living in their childhood bedrooms or paying high private rents that make it almost impossible to find a home that is genuinely affordable.

“That’s why the National Housing Federation is backing the Homes for Britain campaign, calling on the new government to publish a long term plan to end the housing crisis, which addresses all aspects of the market, within its first year of office.”

Elmbridge and Chichester topped the list in first and second place respectively, with Tonbridge and Malling listed 20th.